Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding unit launched John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) for the first time on 16 December, moving the ship through the James River and into the shipyard’s Pier 3. There, the ship will undergo additional outfitting and begin its testing programme.
Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding launched aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy on 16 December, moving it to another pier for further work. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
With its shipbuilding running about three months ahead of its original schedule, Kennedy was guided down the river with the aid of six tugboats about a mile from Newport News Shipbuilding’s Dry Dock 12 in Tidewater, Virginia, where the carrier started construction.
“This move is significant in that it represents a shift in focus from erecting the ship in dock to final completion and outfitting at the pier,” said Mike Butler, Newport News Shipbuilding Kennedy programme director.
At Pier 3, Kennedy will start a new phase of construction, Newport News Shipbuilding said, to complete habitability spaces, such as berthing and mess areas. The yard will also test distributive, mechanical, and combat systems, such as catapults and radar arrays. The work is expected to take about two-and-a-half years.
Kennedy is scheduled for delivery to the US Navy (USN) in 2022.
Newport News Shipbuilding and the USN are still working on an option for a single-phase delivery for Kennedy , hoping to decide on such a plan early in 2020.
Before Kennedy
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